An idea for a hangar lift....

scsmith said:

These things are about 1/10 the price of an Aero Lift and seem like it would be pretty straightforward to modify one. The one drawback I see offhand is needing 240V. My hangar has 120V 20A, which I bet is pretty typical.

So, I'd like to revive this old thread and hear from anyone that knows of one of these things being adapted to lift an airplane?

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Steve,
Cheap 110V hydraulic power units are easy to come by, ($259 with prime shipping!) and would nearly bolt right on in place of the existing system. Most of these lifts have mechanical locking features as they go up, so even if your cheap hydraulic unit takes a dive you're plane won't drop.

It'd likely be slower than the original setup, but isn't there some saying about "time to spare, go by air"

FYI, the RV-5 is currently suspended high in the demo aircraft hangar at Vans, lifted by a harbor freight hoist. Granted it weighs less, but they do offer configurations that would lift a cub in the couple hundred dollar price range.

Tdeman said:

Steve,
Cheap 110V hydraulic power units are easy to come by, ($259 with prime shipping!) and would nearly bolt right on in place of the existing system. Most of these lifts have mechanical locking features as they go up, so even if your cheap hydraulic unit takes a dive you're plane won't drop.

It'd likely be slower than the original setup, but isn't there some saying about "time to spare, go by air"

Click to expand...

It appears that the way these work is that there is a hydraulic ram with a pulley on the end, and a chain runs over that pulley and down the post. Somewhere there is a transition to a cable. It seems that the cable acts to synchronize the lifts on the two posts. The floor cover across between the posts seems to have a hydraulic line and the synchronizing cables running in it.

So I suppose a 120V hydraulic unit could be retrofitted.

As a regional manager for one of the major automotive lift manufacturers in the USA, I've been mulling this over for a while, but it's a back burner project. I don't think it's anything the company I work for would ever put into production. However... with some materials and a welder, some adaptions may be made. I currently have 1 lift in my hangar and another on the way, but they're to get my cars out of the way of my airplane. Oddly enough, I was planning on stopping by the plant tomorrow and seeing if one of the engineers wanted to help with a side project.

My question is, would you ever want it to convert from auto to airplane and back, or would you prefer to have a single post aircraft lift and save space?

Gearhead51 said:

As a regional manager for one of the major automotive lift manufacturers in the USA, I've been mulling this over for a while, but it's a back burner project. I don't think it's anything the company I work for would ever put into production. However... with some materials and a welder, some adaptions may be made. I currently have 1 lift in my hangar and another on the way, but they're to get my cars out of the way of my airplane. Oddly enough, I was planning on stopping by the plant tomorrow and seeing if one of the engineers wanted to help with a side project.

My question is, would you ever want it to convert from auto to airplane and back, or would you prefer to have a single post aircraft lift and save space?

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Honestly I don't care if it is single post or two post. It would be airplane only, forever. If I bought one of the two-post products, I would modify the lift arms to have paddles for the main wheels and the tail wheel.
The big Issue I see is center of gravity location relative to the posts. This has two implications. The most obvious is the moment reaction to the ground through the base plate and bolt pattern. Most all cars are going to have the c.g. in some modest range fairly close to the post, whereas an airplane is going to have the c.g. as much as 4--5 ft from the post. Will that bolt pattern hold? I think I would plan on a link from the top of the post to the nearest hangar wall to brace it.
The second problem with that much moment is whether the lift shuttles would bind? They have nylon pads to slide on, I don't know if they can tolerate the moment.

This is why I would love to hear from anyone who has done it?????

Gearhead51 said:

As a regional manager for one of the major automotive lift manufacturers in the USA, I've been mulling this over for a while, but it's a back burner project. I don't think it's anything the company I work for would ever put into production. However... with some materials and a welder, some adaptions may be made. I currently have 1 lift in my hangar and another on the way, but they're to get my cars out of the way of my airplane. Oddly enough, I was planning on stopping by the plant tomorrow and seeing if one of the engineers wanted to help with a side project.

My question is, would you ever want it to convert from auto to airplane and back, or would you prefer to have a single post aircraft lift and save space?

Click to expand...

I'm interested. I'm fine with airplane only and would appreciate a free standing unit. The airport authority frowns on renters drilling holes in their nice hangar floors...

Instead of lift, hoist. Perhaps a metal frame and cables.

My bifold hangar door uses cables that are spooled around a single drum which is turned by one motor. Same principle.

Kyle Boatright said:

I'm interested. I'm fine with airplane only and would appreciate a free standing unit. The airport authority frowns on renters drilling holes in their nice hangar floors...

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Also very interested with the same conditions as Kyle above. I talked to the folks that bought Aerolift and I couldn’t tell if they were really in business. And the basic unit started at $22K IIRC. I regret selling the RV7 but I’m not willing to leave a plane on the ramp due to lack of hanger space.

Anything we build will anchor to the floor, so I apologize to the renters. Our lifts are overbuilt, and I planned the seed with engineering. One of our engineers was more interested in going for a ride, so I might be able to do something. A single post will work best for me too since i already have 2 lifts. Like anything... we will have to calculate moment arm, but I don't think that'll be an issue with the design I'm thinking of. I don't see an issue with the carriage binding at this time. I've got another meeting tomorrow about something else, but I'll prod a little more.

To avoid drilling anchor holes in the concrete floor, I was thinking of bolting the post(s) to a big steel plate. the footprint of the steel plate would have to extend to a point forward of the airplane c.g. and if a single post, would also have to extend laterally to a point beyond the airplane centerline. This is what Aero Lift does - they have two legs extending from the post forward and laterally.

If carriage binding was a problem, I guess I could ballast the tailwheel lift arms to get the c.g. closer to the post(s).

Keep us posted if you and your engineers want to take on a low-production side project to modify your standard products.

Gearhead51 said:

Anything we build will anchor to the floor, so I apologize to the renters. Our lifts are overbuilt, and I planned the seed with engineering. One of our engineers was more interested in going for a ride, so I might be able to do something. A single post will work best for me too since i already have 2 lifts. Like anything... we will have to calculate moment arm, but I don't think that'll be an issue with the design I'm thinking of. I don't see an issue with the carriage binding at this time. I've got another meeting tomorrow about something else, but I'll prod a little more

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Following... With an RV-12 well under way and a beautiful RV-7 I'd like to keep until I don't fly anymore, I've also been looking at automotive lifts and trying to figure out how to make one work in my rented tee hangar.

I've been told the concrete isn't thick enough for a typical twin-post lift with a bolted base configuration, I also don't think my airport owner would approve of tying it to the wall for stability, so something free standing is going to be required for my situation.

A single column with support legs would be best for me. And I don't have 220V power, so 110V would be another requirement. Doesn't hurt to dream.

And BTW, Thanks for updating the forum, it's a welcome improvement!